Korean-American detained in North Korea was pastor: defector
SEOUL (Reuters) – A Korean-American man who says he is being held in North Korea was a Christian pastor who had worked in China and the United States, a North Korean defector who met him and traveled with him in 2007 told Reuters.
Azeri oil disaster an open wound for survivors
BAKU (Reuters) – For the survivors of a lifeboat which hung between a blazing oil rig and 10-meter waves on a wind-lashed sea, the horror lives on while the search for the comrades they saw die is not complete.
Syria needs new constitution, says Russia’s Putin
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said Syria needs to start working on a new constitution as a first step to finding a political solution to its civil war, though he acknowledged the process was likely to be difficult.
Former China deputy security minister sentenced to 15 years: state media
BEIJING (Reuters) – China has jailed former vice public security minister Li Dongsheng for 15 years, state media reported on Tuesday, the latest official tied to ousted security tsar Zhou Yongkang to be sentenced for corruption offences.
China makes more military reforms, sets up graft busting unit
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s military has set up 15 new units – covering everything from logistics to equipment development, political work and fighting corruption – as part of an on-going drive to modernize the world’s largest armed forces, the Defense…
North Korea seeks China help on treaty with U.S., or more tests: source
(This January 8 story corrects wording in fourth paragraph about source)
U.N. official says starvation exists in besieged Syrian towns
AMMAN (Reuters) – U.N. and relief agency workers saw starving people in two besieged Syrian areas where aid deliveries were made on Monday, a senior U.N. official said.
Freed Guantanamo detainees say they seek peace and quiet in Ghana
ACCRA (Reuters) – Two Yemenis transferred to Ghana after their release from the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba said on Monday they hoped to live peacefully and rebuild their lives in the West African country.
Venezuelan court nulls congress decisions over barred lawmakers
CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the new National Assembly’s decisions are void unless three banned opposition lawmakers are removed from office, deepening a power struggle over the opposition’s new legislative majorit…
Merkel under pressure as Cologne police detail assaults
BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel faced growing pressure to harden her line on refugees on Monday as the first extensive police report on New Year’s Eve violence in Cologne documented rampant sexual assaults on women by gangs of young …
